Gaslight (2023)

Meesha, a young Gaslight paraplegic woman confined to a wheelchair, returns to her family’s royal estate after 15 years at the behest of her estranged father, only to learn that he’s mysteriously missing and probably dead.

A young woman who returns after a long gap to a Rajasthan ‘haveli’ where she spent her childhood, is beset by dark dreams. Her father isn’t there to welcome her. Days go by and there’s no sign of him. Ghostly figures flit behind curtains, a gaslight lantern left winking on the floor the only evidence that someone was there. Things go bump in the night. And every time Meesha (Sara Ali Khan) tries to bring these fearful occurrences up with the sultry siren (Chitrangada Singh) firmly ensconced in the mansion, she’s told she’s imagining things.

The set-up is ripe for a slushy thriller, and the actors are an interesting mix, but the film never really takes off. That there is strain between Meesha’s royal parents is evident at a birthday party, which we see in flashback: that something drastic has happened to the ‘rani-sa’ and that the ‘raja’ is missing, comes as no surprise.

The only actor who rises somewhat above his lines is Akshay Oberoi, playing an entitled prince, and Meesha’s distant cousin, with a degree of flash. The rest, including Sara Ali Khan, who really needs a role with substance, and Vikrant Massey who can usually be relied upon to get us to look, leave little impact.

There’s one stand-out sequence in which a character is murdered most stylishly against the sand-dunes. The stark shadows cast by the victim and the killer in the dead of night, takes the film straight into noir territory. It makes you sit up and take notice. ‘Gaslight’ could have done with more of those moments.
Helmed by Pawan Kripalani, the film also stars Chitrangda Singh. It is a psychological thriller.

ByBollywood Hungama News Network -March 4, 2023 – 12:03 PM IST
Sara Ali Khan and Vikrant Massey starrer Gaslight is taking the direct-to-digital route. Bollywood Hungama had informed that the said film, which is being bankrolled by Ramesh Taurani under his banner TIPS Films, would feature Sara and Vikrant in lead roles and that it was titled Gaslight. Now, the streaming platform has announced that the film will arrive on March 31, 2023